Rock-a-Bye Power Rangers (AngieYaz rewritten version)
Rock-a-Bye Power Rangers is the thirty-first episode of Power Rangers Zeo if I myself had written it in a collaboration with Tony and Barbara Oliver. Summary The Machine Empire has been wearing down the Zeo Rangers for two weeks with constant Cog attacks. The Rangers get incredibly sleepy despite the help from the Gold Ranger. Mondo capitalizes on the situation by ordering Klank and Orbus to create a monster that can put people and machines to sleep so they can finally be rid of the Rangers once and for all. They succeed in creating one called Somnibot, a sloth-like lullaby-singing robot that can put people and machines to sleep with her melodious sirenlike voice. Unfortunately, her singing even makes her tired too. She is sent to Earth to carry out this mission. During it, Rita and Zedd capture her and steal her voice, propositioning her in a Faustian bargain to kiss Alpha 5 before the sun sets the next night so she can be free from the Machine Empire's will. Meanwhile, the Rangers and Alpha 5 also begin to suspect that Billy is the Gold Ranger due to his constant disappearances. Synopsis Part 1 The episode begins with the Zeo Rangers fighting several Cogs in Angel Grove Park. The Gold Ranger shows up, causing the Cogs to disappear. The Rangers discuss the matter before trudging back to the Power Chamber. The Machine King and Queen see the Rangers' tiredness, and Mondo says that this advantage calls for a new monster. Meanwhile, in the Power Chamber, Alpha has very vivid dreams of a nightcap-wearing robot girl with big, sleepy-looking eyes and a very melodious voice like the Sirens of Greek myth; he also sees an ethereal pink glow in his dreams as well. At the Youth Center, the teens discuss what has been happening to them, with Rocky saying that between school, fighting monsters and homework, they haven't slept well in weeks. The next afternoon in the Machine Palace, Klank and Orbus introduce the royal family to Somnibot, a monster that uses her voice to put people and machines into a deep, peaceful sleep with a hypnotic cradle song. Klank further states that Somnibot has the most beautiful singing voice in all of the Machine Empire. Mondo, impressed at the monster's abilities despite her having not demonstrated them just yet, orders Klank to ask a Quadrafighter pilot to take Somnibot to Earth so she can use her abilities. While flying to Earth on the back of a Quadrafighter, Somnibot practices her song, which causes the pilot to almost fall asleep. After she wakes it back up, she puts several Angel Grove citizens to sleep in the park with her song, which we find out is "Rock-a-Bye Baby". She then proceeds into various locations in the city, putting several people to sleep in stores and restaurants. Even electronic devices like computers cannot resist her mesmerizing voice. The Rangers are individually called to the Chamber by Zordon and Alpha, who inform them on Somnibot and her special powers - she uses harmonics and music to place her victims—human or robot—under a powerful sleeping spell; however, her delta wave frequency, which matches that of the human brain, can be altered or terminated to wake up her victims as their sleep is magically induced rather than legitimate sleep. Rocky muses that Somni's spell seems like a very good idea right then, as we can clearly see that the Rangers want to go to the dream world immediately. While Alpha seems to show concern for the Rangers, Zordon is only concerned with Somnibot being stopped "before she does permanent damage", warning them that if she does put them to sleep while under Mondo's will and not her own, they will be trapped in the dream world forever regardless of how beautiful it is. Groaning, Tommy mutters to himself "Awww man. Now I know how Aurora and Snow White must have felt." before calling for everyone to morph. When they morph and teleport to a nearby river to fight Cogs again, Somnibot sings her lullaby to put the Rangers and Cogs to sleep; on Klank's cue, the monster causes the Rangers and Cogs to become sleepy by singing in a very sweet and melodious manner. While Somnibot sings, Alpha only manages to catch a glimpse of her before Tommy calls him. His memory banks download her physical appearance and vocal data, and his central processor begins beating like a human heart. Becoming very sleepy/weak, Tommy Oliver calls Alpha, but the Edenite robot notes that Somnibot beat them to the punch and is bypassing the Zeo Rangers' altered power frequencies that he fixed before to make them immune to Somnibot's lullaby. Before the Rangers can fall asleep and be sent to the dream world, the Gold Ranger shows up to "tuck Somnibot in for the night". Declaring that she isn't ready to be put to sleep herself, Somnibot fires her lasers at him, but he uses the Golden Power Staff to attack Somnibot. She dodges the attack, but before she can fire again, she is teleported away by a familiar enemy, Rita Repulsa. The Rangers look at each other in confusion. Tommy calls Zordon and informs him of the situation, but the Rangers have no idea who or what caused the monster to teleport away. Zordon, somewhat exasperated, tells the Rangers to "take a wild guess!" at who captured Somnibot, and the team quickly concludes that Rita and Zedd are responsible; they even watched the whole fight. When the sleep-inducing robotic songstress arrives, Rita tells the young robot that she Rita understands that she is gifted with song and the ability to put people and machines to sleep. Fearfully, the female narcoleptic bot responds in the affirmative. The sorceress explains that she can break free from Mondo and Machina's will, leave the Machine Empire and live her own life. The robot, astonished, asks if Rita and Zedd can do that, and the sorceress responds with a maternal yes. (Throughout, she, Zedd, Goldar and Finster are wearing headphones to ensure that they too don't get caught under Somnibot's sleeping spell themselves.) Rita explains the deal to her: she will break free from Mondo's control for the next day, during which she must get a kiss of true love from Alpha 5 before the sun sets the next night in order to stay with him and the Rangers; otherwise, she will belong to Mondo and Machina forever. Rita further states that as part of the deal, she must give up her voice - which means that her ability to sing lullabies will be taken away for a while. (Unbeknownst to Somnibot, however, the deal is simply a part of Rita and Zedd's sinister plot to get back at her "parents", Mondo and Machina, for taking over their home on the Moon.) She, thinking that is her only chance to break free from her life of evil and be with Alpha, accepts the deal as she signs a contract conjured by Rita and Zedd. The two then create a microphone for the sleep-inducing monster to sing into. They, still wearing their headphones, order Somnibot to sing for them and summon magical hands to steal her voice (represented by a glowing ball of red light with some violet and white light in the center), which is then sealed into a blood-red gemstone on Rita's necklace. After being encased inside of a chamomile tea-colored energy bubble that strips away her Machine Empire insignia, Somnibot, Klank and Orbus are then transported back to the Power Chamber, but Somnibot is now mute and bereft of her powers. Billy and Alpha scan her, only to find that the secondary source of her powers, her voice, is completely gone, but they conclude that the two have not stolen Somni's brainwave frequency, the main source of her powers. The Rangers teleport in and assume fighting stances, but Alpha explains their newest mission - they must retrieve Somnibot's voice before Rita can use it to destroy Angel Grove in the monster's place. Part 2 Somnibot meets Alpha and the Rangers in the Power Chamber a few hours later. There, Alpha and Billy discuss giving Somnibot a tour of Angel Grove, to which she agrees to. Later that night, Klank discusses plans to get Alpha to kiss Somnibot, though she doesn't listen, being too enamored in the prospects of sleeping in her own bed instead of just putting everyone else to sleep. But down in King Mondo's palace, the situation is grim. King Mondo has sent several search parties everywhere looking for Somni, Klank and Orbus, but hasn't found a trace of neither of them. He is left depressed; blaming himself for their disappearance. Machina consoles her husband, saying that they will find them in time. The next morning, Somnibot and Alpha begin their tour of the city, starting with the business district and working into the retail district. Somnibot is enamored by every single thing she sees, whether it is toys, nightclothes (her favorites being the ones with frills and shoulder ruffles for girls), or dancing (the two robots dance at the Youth Center; everyone, including Ernie, is perplexed). The day passes into evening when Somnibot and Alpha are on a cruise on the same pond where Billy was to meet Marge on their date. Adam and Rocky, seeing this as the perfect moment, decide to take matters into their own hands, and play a romantic song on a boombox to excite the two into kissing. However, the song is quickly interrupted by Goldar and Finster overturning the boat, successfully ruining the mood. Thw two robots then help each other out of the water, and the Rangers dry them off. Rita, frustrated with the progress Somnibot's making, decides to take matters into her own hands, and transforms her clothes into a much-prettier version of her outfit, declaring that "Zordon's robot" will be hers again, and that she will make the old sage writhe, seeing him struggle like a live worm on a hook. She then uses Somnibot's voice to hypnotize Alpha just before he could announce his true feelings to her—as she remembers when she selected him as the one that was to lure the Rangers into a deadly trap in "The Wedding", and wishes to take him in once again as her loyal and faithful servant (and because she has grown to love him like her own child). And the next morning, Zedd and Rita are announced to be going on a romantic date during sunset with Alpha joining them, leaving poor Somnibot central processor-broken as Serpentera departs, leaving Somnibot and the Rangers behind while Rita convincingly plays her role as a love-struck woman, clinging constantly to Zedd's side, raising no suspicion. While Somnibot witnesses the ship sailing off, she begins weeping over Alpha's loss. Little does anyone know, Bulk and Skull fly over Serpentera on jetpacks when they hear Rita's voice coming from a dressing room, sweetened with Somnibot's voice. Skull spies from a porthole, and once Rita takes a look at the dressing room's mirror, the two are in shock. They fly off and land to inform Somnibot and the group about Rita and her plans. The group then makes a plan, Somnibot and Orbus—fitted with thrusters in his back—go after Serpentera on a barrel, Klank goes to tell King Mondo and Queen Machina of what's happening, while Bulk and Skull go off to stall the big date. Bulk and Skull gather a small army of people (Somnibot's intended victims before she was captured by Rita) to converse on the ship as the big date is just under way. There is little warning for Rita when the attack begins, and the ship is sent into disarray, giving Somnibot the time she needed to get aboard. Moreover, Zedd and Rita are utterly flustered, disoriented and sidelined from being able to do anything. Thanks to the help of Bulk, Katherine manages to snap the ruby necklace off Rita's neck and smashes it into the ground, returning Somnibot's voice back to Somnibot (forcing Rita to fulfill her and Zedd's end of their bargain), and releasing Alpha from the spell. Alpha finds Somnibot and admits she's the one who sang so beautifully in Angel Grove Park and later at the riverbank (and thus started the whole thing), and reveals that unlike Zordon, he cannot bring himself to have the Rangers destroy her—for he has fallen in love with her and wants to let her live despite her connection to the Machine Empire. But before the two could kiss, the sun sets and Somnibot collapses in extreme pain as the insignia of the Machine Empire reappears on her body. Upon her return to Mondo and Machina's control, she is removed of her characteristic sleepiness and is much more alert, and puts Bulk, Skull, and the people onboard Serpentera to sleep. Klank, Orbus and Somnibot take a truck to serve as Somnibot's mobile power station, to feed her and make her spell stronger so she can impress Alpha. She is now in a much more fierce-looking form, with a blue nightcap on her head instead of a pink one, two tweeter loudspeakers that comes out of her shoulders, fighting pants with knee guards on her legs, a karate headband around her forehead, a ribbon belt of the same color on her waist, and cat-clawed fighting gloves on her hands. Her face also has war paint on it and her demeanor is now much more sinister. She also takes on another form later, this one with two gramophone horns on her head in place of her nightcap, a wind-up music box key in her skull, a computer box on her stomach and a cute pinwheel in her hand. When the Zeo Rangers get to the three's location on their Zeo Jet Cycles, Somnibot wastes no time. She attempts to sing her lullaby again to put the Zeo Rangers to sleep, while Klank increases her power output. Thanks to her shoulder-oriented loudspeakers, her singing is so pleasant and melodious that even people that are afar begin to fall into a deep sleep. Back in the Power Chamber, Alpha worries over Somnibot's predicament while Billy disappears, forcing himself to initiate a power surge to keep his intended girlfriend under control. While Somnibot continues to sing the Rangers into the dream world again in her melodious and sweet manner, they're suddenly spotted by the Gold Ranger who is ready to fight. Klank asks that she put him to sleep as well, and Somnibot sings her lullaby and this time the Gold Ranger isn't strong enough to fight its effects and he begins to fall asleep too. However, Alpha's power surge works on Somnibot and she suddenly stops singing, wondering who stopped her performance. The people that were affected by her spell wake up as if nothing had happened at all. Upset that her concert was interrupted and that her spell is now broken, Somnibot then takes on the Rangers directly alongside some Cogs, however the Cogs are quickly defeated while the Gold Ranger restrains Somnibot, pleading for her to remember that Alpha is in love with her. She struggles violently to free herself and throws the Gold Ranger to the ground. Klank has Orbus make Somnibot grow, so the Rangers summon the Zeo Megazord and Red Battlezord to take her on. After beating her around for a while, the Rangers get an idea and ask Alpha to use the power of the Zeo Crystal to heal Somnibot and make her remember her love for him. The Rangers combine the Zeo Crystal's energy with the Zeo Ultrazord's energy blast, purifying Somnibot and restoring her good memories of Alpha and her love for him. She returns back to normal size and her original form (though her tweeter loudspeakers will be reinstalled by Billy and Alpha later), weak from the experience. The Rangers and Alpha take her to the Power Chamber to reacquaint herself with her new life. The next day, the Rangers meet in the Power Chamber and comment on how glad they are to have finally been allowed to have a good night's sleep, thanks to Somnibot's help. Tommy then takes the chance to ask Billy exactly what has been going on with him recently given the fact he's always tired despite no longer being a Ranger, let alone his recent mysterious disappearances. Rocky however has come to his own conclusion that Billy is actually the Gold Ranger. Billy denies this for now, telling the others that he's been working on something that he'd rather not talk about yet and that if he was the Gold Ranger he wouldn't keep that kind of secret from them. While the other Rangers accept this, Rocky, Alpha and Somnibot still aren't so sure. Cast *Catherine Sutherland as Katherine "Kat" Hillard (Zeo Ranger I: Pink) *Nakia Burrise as Tanya Sloan (Zeo Ranger II: Yellow) *Steve Cardenas as Rocky DeSantos (Zeo Ranger III: Blue) *Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park (Zeo Ranger IV: Green) *Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver (Zeo Ranger V: Red) *Brad Hawkins as Trey of Triforia (Gold Zeo Ranger, voice) *David Yost as Billy Cranston *Amy Jo Johnson as Kimberly Hart *Paul Schrier as Farkas "Bulk" Bulkmeier *Jason Narvy as Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch *Gregg Bullock as Det. Jerome "Jerry" Stone *David Fielding as Zordon (face) *Bob Manahan as Zordon (voice) *Donene Kistler as Alpha 5 *Richard Steven Horwitz as Alpha 5 (voice) (as Richard Wood) *David Stenstrom as King Mondo (voice) *Alex Borstein as Queen Machina (voice) *Barbara Goodson as Prince Sprocket (voice), Orbus (voice), Rita Repulsa (voice), and Somnibot (voice) *Kerrigan Mahan as Goldar (voice) *Robert Axelrod as Finster (voice) and Lord Zedd (voice) *Oliver Page as Klank (voice) *Jodi Benson as Rita Repulsa with Somnibot's voice (voice) Notes * This episode continues the suggestion that Billy could be the Gold Ranger, as he constantly runs off just as the Gold Ranger is about to appear as well as being just as exhausted as the Rangers despite no longer fighting. *In Part II, Bulk and Skull's jetpacks are the same ones from Forever Friends, albeit with improved performance via a little tinkering. *Somnibot's last name is confirmed in her introductory scene to be Gadgetry, effectively making her the daughter of Mondo and Machina, and thus she is a princess and the sister of Gasket and Sprocket. This is confirmed when she addresses Mondo as "Daddy" and Machina as "Mother" during the scene. *Somnibot's assembly day is September 23, 1996, the actual airdate for this episode. * Despite the song "Rock-a-Bye Baby" (and several variations of it) being used through most of the episode (sung by Somnibot), a small bit of "Brahms' 'Lullaby'" is used when she puts Bulk, Skull and the people on board Serpentera to sleep. She sings to the tune of "Brahms' 'Lullaby'" when she is confronted by the Zeo Rangers in the parking lot and Klank is increasing her energy output. ** This is brought up earlier when Mondo mentions that Somnibot can sing many lullabies to put Angel Grove to sleep during the day. *When ordering Somnibot to sing for them, Zedd and Rita conjure up a voice-over microphone. *The scene where Somnibot gets her voice stolen is a near-copy of the same scene from Disney's The Little Mermaid. Somnibot even sings the same way Ariel sung before her own voice was stolen, singing very passionately but sweetly. **Zordon, Alpha, Billy and the Rangers were unaffected by Somnibot's singing when her voice was stolen, since Billy and Alpha were in the Power Chamber and the Rangers were still at the riverbank. **The scene has been referred to by the producers as "Somnibot's Swan Song", "Somnibot Loses Her Voice" and "The Siren has Been Silenced". **Several of the Z-Putties, regular Putties and the Tengas became affected by Somnibot's spell (some struggling to remain awake, others falling asleep outright) as soon as she started singing, as they weren't wearing headphones to protect themselves from the spell. They immediately wake up after her voice is stolen. Errors and Mistakes * In numerous American shots, Klank and Orbus were missing their spell-resistant headphones. * The Cogs were glowing violet or red, apparently affected by Somnibot’s spell as she was singing, but in the next shot, they were no longer violet or red. * In one shot of King Mondo, his crown and the gear below it were not turning. * The microphone that Somnibot sings into (when her voice is stolen) completely disappears when the magical hands appear. Song *Go Gold Ranger *Somnibot's lullaby *Poor Unfortunate Bot Category:Episode Category:Multi-Part Episode